


Set the Wild Echoes Flying

by nove1198



Category: Sanditon (TV 2019), Sanditon - Jane Austen
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Introspection, Post 1x07, Speculation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-07
Updated: 2019-10-07
Packaged: 2020-11-26 17:10:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20933768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nove1198/pseuds/nove1198
Summary: Charlotte has lots of thoughts after Sidney's declaration. Post 1x07.





	Set the Wild Echoes Flying

**Author's Note:**

> This is my very first fanfic and it is not betaed. I quite literally shook this out of my brain almost immediately after watching the episode, for these two adorable sillies demanded it. I have so enjoyed every addition to this tiny but mighty Sanditon fandom. Hope you all like it!
> 
> Chapter Title from the poem 'The Splendor Falls" by Tennyson

Charlotte dimly felt her hands fall, one blindly searching for support before finally landing on the table. Her mind spun. Her thoughts, her heart, her very breath seemed to race, stutter, and stall again and again.

She turned and slowly walked the few steps required to gracelessly sink into a chair, the candles guttering for a moment as she pressed a clenched fist under her chest. What was this tightness? Was she going to faint? Was she going mad? She must be, or she must be dreaming, for it couldn’t be – he couldn’t possibly have –

_“I believe I am my best self – my truest self – when I’m with you”_

The words – _those words!_ – continued to echo throughout her mind, resonating through every part of her, quickening and healing that which had grown cold and broken before laying prostrate at the door of her heart, begging her to unlock it and let them in.

_Could he? Is he saying he – no. No!_ She suppressed that thought with an iron fist.

That quick suppression allowed the rest of their conversation to return to her awareness as additional realizations assailed her – _He was looking for me – me? Mrs. Campion is gone, o thank heavens! He didn’t return with her. He’s staying here, he said he wanted to stay, that he realized he wanted to stay here, here in Sanditon - b__ecause of me?_

She jerked her mind away from that, the thought surely too sweet to be true. In retaliation, her mind instantly brought forth his fumbling comment about Heraclitus at the regatta and for the first time since it happened, the jeering laughter of the peerage faded away and she remembered with a gasp that he had said her name. Her mouth fell open a bit as her hand unconsciously came up to cover it. _He called me Charlotte!_

_“ . . .my truest self . . .my best self . . .with you.”_

Tears sprang to her eyes as a quiet, surprised laugh escaped her. With a deep, shuddering breath – and a dim sound in her mind not unlike the turn of a key in a door – she felt her heart fling itself open, and those words – _Sidney! _– settled all within her, sinking into the very marrow of her bones.

The candles guttered again and she came to awareness, realizing the lateness of the hour. Slowly, she stood and made her way through the rooms, still having the vague sense that she was dreaming. As she turned to ascend the stairs, a faint hint of Sidney’s scent – _sweat, spice, tobacco _– captured her and she remembered his tall, strong frame striding away from her down this very hall and ascending these very stairs after bravely laying his heart at her feet.

She grinned, lost in thought as she climbed up to her room. How _like_ himself he had been as he’d spoken – strong, committed, unashamed and sure even with his nerves – _he was nervous! _Her grin widened.

She came to her door, opened it, and went in, shutting it softly behind her. As she turned toward the room, a thought dropped into her mind, fully formed and complete – _I love him_. Before she could even begin to process that unveiling, another thought – _and he loves me._

She gingerly sat on her bed, shaking her head even as a smile tried to break free. _He – he loves me. Me! I don’t – I can’t – how can it be? Me, a poor country girl who reads, who makes assumptions and speaks her mind, and –_

_” . . .best self . . .truest self . . .with you.”_

She collapsed back onto her bed, staring at the canopy above. His words, those words – they were a declaration. A statement. _A promise?_

She heard the wind from the beach whip past her window and thought of the many hours of the night stretching before her. How would she ever sleep? What would _happen_, what would she _do_ come tomorrow? What would _he_ do? Would he change his mind? _He could still leave. _Her stomach churned with a sudden grip of nerves.

She rose and dispensed with her dress, mind swirling with possibilities as she changed into her nightgown and crawled under her covers, sparing a thought to bless the maid who had warmed her sheets with a bed warmer. The furor of her mind eased as the warmth enveloped her and a memory rose to the surface.

_“My dear girl, when it comes to love, there is no such thing as a foregone conclusion.”_

Charlotte felt Lady Susan’s words blanket her mind with peace. It was silly to worry over what she could not control. She would face the morning when it came. A day with the sun, the beach, the wind and water, good friends, more discoveries – and Sidney. Perhaps her race had been run – _and won!_ – after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Come yell at me on tumblr - tumblr.com/happychickadee


End file.
